Darla and the Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow
by PerkyGoth14
Summary: Darla's class visits the museum to learn about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow close to the Halloween season. They are also told that if the original manuscript is placed in a pumpkin at midnight, the Headless Horseman will rise from the dead and seek out his revenge.
1. Chapter 1

Darla came to Atticus with a permission slip from school and tugged his shirt as he was on the phone.

"Oh, excuse me for one second," Atticus said to the person he was one the phone with before looking over to Darla. "Yes, Darla?"

"Could you sign this?" Darla handed the slip over. "I need chaperons for this week's field trip to the museum."

"Oh, of course," Atticus smiled as he signed the slip for his little sister. "Going to the museum, huh?"

"We're gonna hear about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Darla beamed.

"Awesome, if Cherry came along, she would most likely be the most excited." Atticus smiled.

"You wanna invite her?" Darla asked.

"Hang on..." Atticus said, then got back on the phone. "Cherry, wanna go to the-"

 ** _"No."_** Cherry said flatly while sipping a milkshake while on the phone with him.

"Alright, then I guess the Legend of Sleepy Hollow doesn't mean anything to you." Atticus said as he pretended he was about to hang up.

 ** _"Wait what?"_ ** Cherry asked, on the edge then.

"Goodbye, Cherry." Atticus smirked.

 ** _"HEY!"_** Cherry yelled out. **_"What's this about Sleepy Hollow?! One of my all time favorite stories."_**

"Oh, it's just part of the museum me and Darla are going to since I'm her chaperon." Atticus said.

 ** _"And I'm not going?"_ ** Cherry asked flatly.

"You said, you-" Atticus tried.

 ** _"Don't put words in my mouth, Wiccan Boy, I'll be there."_** Cherry cut him off.

"Okay then." Atticus smirked.

Darla looked curious.

"Cherry's in." Atticus said while lowering the phone and covering the audio piece.

"You knew that would bring her along, didn't you?" Darla smirked.

Atticus chuckled and nodded, he was then given a dial tone and hung up. "So, you wanna go to the museum?"

"I'm sure it'll be better than before George came along with Mr. Ted." Darla replied.

"Sure has been a while since we last saw them..." Atticus smiled in memory.

"Yeah." Darla smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that wasn't the last we've seen of George and the others." Atticus said.

"This boy in my class is rumored to be descended from Ichabod Crane, his name's Nick and he's really jumpy." Darla replied.

"Sounds like he doesn't really like Halloween." Atticus said.

"Yeah..." Darla nodded about her classmate.

"Well, then I'll be able to make sure he loves Halloween." Atticus said.

"Good luck with that..." Darla fluttered her lips in disbelief.

"Wear a sweater or a jacket, it's quite chilly this time of year." Atticus warned.

"Okay." Darla smiled.

Atticus ruffled up her hair.

* * *

Darla giggled and went off to her room.

"Hey, Goldilocks." Urchin sat on her window in his human form.

"Urchin?!" Darla looked surprised.

"Surprised to see me?" Urchin smiled.

"Very much..." Darla replied. "What're you doing here?"

"Drell gave me a free day to become human, I thought maybe I could spend it with ya." Urchin smirked.

"Well, I'm going to a school field trip, so if you wanna be human, you're gonna have to learn." Darla replied.

"Alright." Urchin shrugged.

Darla then took out her jacket and laid it out so she could bring it to school with her so she wouldn't forget.

"So, what's school like?" Urchin then asked.

"You learn, make new friends, eat lunch, sometimes play..." Darla listed.

"Cool." Urchin smiled.

"If you say so..." Darla chuckled.

"I've always wanted to go to school," Urchin said. "We don't have that in Atlantica."

"How do you learn?" Darla asked.

"We kind of learn on our own and with some help from our parents." Urchin said.

"I see..." Darla commented. "Well, maybe if you come on this field trip, you'll kinda see what school is like."

"I just wanna go 'cuz you'll be there." Urchin smiled bashfully.

"Why, Brown Eyes, such a gentleman." Darla blushed.

Urchin blushed a little.

"Ya know, you could maybe blend in with the class..." Darla curled her finger in her blonde hair shyly which twisted one of her curls. "Who's gonna know?"

"I doubt anyone would know." Urchin said.

"Exactly." Darla smiled as she then let go of that curl as it bounced back.

"So when do we leave?" Urchin asked.

"It's tomorrow, we're leaving the school at 9:00 to get on the bus." Darla informed.

"9:00 in the morning?!" Urchin's eyes widened.

"Can't handle it?" Darla smirked.

"Of course I can." Urchin said.

Darla giggled as she then put her clothes out for the next day.

"Hopefully I can become a human permanently, then we can be together..." Urchin whispered to himself as Darla got herself ready for school tomorrow.

"What was that?" Darla asked.

"Uh, nothing?" Urchin smiled nervously.

"Weirdo..." Darla rolled her eyes.

"But I'm your weirdo." Urchin smiled.

Darla rolled her eyes while Urchin stuck his tongue out with a smirk. Atticus passed the room and hid a smirk at the two as they were clearly in love with each other.

"Keep walking." Darla told Atticus.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Atticus chuckled to his little sister as he walked down the hall to his own room.

"Older brothers..." Darla sighed.

"He sure is an amazing brother." Urchin smiled.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool." Darla smiled back.

"I miss Ariel..." Urchin sighed. "I'd visit her on land, but I mostly wanna use those trips for seeing you."

Darla blushed to that. Urchin blushed right back at her.

* * *

"So, Patch, you know anything about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow?" Atticus asked his puppy, though he was sure he hadn't and would happily tell him all about it.

"Not that I know of." Patch said.

"Great!" Atticus beamed.

"Oh, boy, story time!" Patch smiled.

"Yep, sure is." Atticus smiled back.

Patch smiled back, excited to hear about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Atticus then told Patch the story about a schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane and his adventure in Sleepy Hollow which contained a Headless Horseman. Patch soon shuddered at the mention of someone being headless.

* * *

Cherry then came to tell Forte her plans so he could make sure she would be safe. "So we're going with Darla's field trip to the museum, I hear there's a new Sleepy Hollow exhibit."

"Well then, we better make sure that the book doesn't get stolen and placed inside a Jack-O-Lantern." Forte said.

"Uh... What book?" Cherry asked.

"Seriously?" Forte asked.

"What book?" Cherry asked.

"It's in the museum now, but it's the original manuscript written by Washington Irving himself," Forte explained. "Written in 1819."

"Of course you would know about that." Cherry slightly deadpanned since he was three centuries old.

"Anyway, if it lands in a Jack-O-Lantern, then it will bring the Headless Horseman here." Forte said.

"But it was just a legend, a story!" Cherry defended.

Forte shook his head.

"You were there then...?" Cherry then asked as though it seemed like the Legend of Sleepy Hollow was all true.

"Yep I was." Forte nodded.

"Of course you were..." Cherry rolled her eyes slightly. "So, I guess you knew Katrina and Ichabod then."

"Yep," Forte nodded. "And where I even advised her to only marry for love."

"You don't say." Cherry commented.

"No really." Forte said.

"Uh-huh..." Cherry sounded very disinterested.

"Would I ever lie to you?" Forte asked.

"Not to me, I guess..." Cherry shrugged.

"So we have to make sure that it doesn't end up in a Jack-O-Lantern." Forte said.

"Okay, go in your teenager form though so you don't scare people." Cherry said about him coming along.

"You got it." Forte promised. He soon changed into his teenage form.

Cherry rolled her eyes and then took her leave until tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Urchin told everyone he was going back on land and Drell allowed him to become human again for the day so he could join Darla on her school field trip to the museum. And where this would be one that would be important for an adventure. The kids were waiting at school until the bus would come to take them to the museum. Urchin then came over and blended in with the crowd, but only Darla knew he wasn't really from their class and luckily, no one else seemed to mind or notice.

 _'I can't wait to get to the museum.'_ Urchin thought to himself.

"How much longer, Ms. Wentworth?" Amber frowned.

"Sorry, Amber, they should be here soon." the teacher soothed.

"They?" Darla asked.

"The bus driver." Ms. Wentworth replied.

Amber sighed as it seemed to take a while. A boy smirked as he ran his fingers up and down Darla's back.

Darla yelped before then glaring to the boy. "Tucker!"

"Gotcha, Dimple." Tucker smirked.

"It's not funny..." Darla crossed her arms with a firm look to Tucker. "If my big brother were here right now, you'd be sorry."

"Yeah, but he's not here." Tucker smirked.

"Ahem!" Atticus's voice cleared his throat as he was right behind Tucker.

"He's right behind me, isn't he?" Tucker asked nerovusly then.

"Yep." Darla replied while Amber and Urchin smirked.

Atticus folded his arms while Tucker turned around to him. "You picking on my little sister?"

"W-What? N-No, I-I was just playing." Tucker smiled nervously.

"Uh-huh..." Atticus sounded doubtful of that. "I better keep my eye on you."

"Isn't Mo with you?" Darla pouted.

Atticus frowned back. "She has a cold."

"Aww!" Darla frowned.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Atticus gently patted her on the head.

"We're gonna leave a bag of candy on her doorstop though, trick AND treat," Cherry replied as she offered cupcakes. "You guys want some leftover cupcakes from mine and my mom's birthday?"

"Sure." The kids smiled.

Cherry shared the treats with the kids as it was the day before Halloween and they would get candy tomorrow of course.

* * *

Soon enough, the school bus came which made the kids cheer and board the bus.

"Buddy system, kids!" Ms. Wentworth gently reminded.

"We know, Ms. Wentworth!" The kids said.

The kids then got on the bus and with that, they were on their way to the museum. Urchin giggled as he was going to be like a normal kid for today.

"As long as nothing gets in our way the bus ride to the museum should be smooth sailing." Amber said.

"Aw, come on, what could possibly go wrong?" Darla shrugged.

They soon heard the sound of a tire becoming flat.

"Oops..." Darla said.

"You just had to say it." Cherry deadpanned.

"Oh, my..." Ms. Wentworth frowned. "Do you have a spare?"

"Sorry, ma'am, I guess this field trip is cancelled." the bus driver frowned.

"No, it isn't." Atticus said.

The others then looked to him.

"Let me handle this." Atticus volunteered.

"He's stronger than he looks, Ms. Wentworth." Darla said.

"Well, okay then." Ms. Wentworth said.

Atticus saluted and went out the bus to give them help so their field trip wouldn't be cancelled.

"I doubt that he'll be able to lift up the bus." Tucker scoffed until they felt the bus being moved.

"You were saying?" Darla smirked.

Atticus grunted at first, but then lifted the bus with ease. "Hang on tight, kids, please keep your hands, legs, and selves inside the bus at all times!"

"Looks like I won't have to drive after all." The bus driver chuckled.

"Hang on." Atticus said before going to their destination.

Tucker could only be jaw-dropped at what he just learned. Nick was a little shaky and nervous while his friend Kate tried her best to soothe him.

"Wow, he's really jumpy." Urchin said.

"Poor Nick..." Darla frowned to the cowardly boy of her class.

* * *

Soon enough, Atticus stopped and let the kids and teacher out as they made it to the museum.

"Thanks, kid, can ya take me to the airport next week?" the bus driver joked.

"I'll have to check my schedule." Atticus joked back.

The bus driver chuckled and let the doors close. Atticus then went to meet the others inside the museum.

"Darla's older brother is amazing." One of the boy students said.

"Yeah, he's totally cool, I wish I had a cool brother like him." another student agreed.

Darla smiled bashfully as she overheard her classmates.

"Stick close, class, we'll be seeing the Sleepy Hollow exhibit, perfect and just in time for Halloween if I do say so myself." Ms. Wentworth told her students.

"I know a certain someone is excited about Halloween." Atticus said.

"Come on, guys, we gotta go!" Cherry beamed.

Urchin blinked in surprise, he had not really witnessed the perky goth's more chipper side.

"Cherry gets this way when Halloween comes." Atticus said.

"I'm scared..." Urchin shivered.

* * *

They were then inside the museum and the tour guide led them to the Sleepy Hollow exhibit and they were going to watch a video which would show them footage of Ichabod Crane running from the Headless Horseman.

"I wonder if a descendant of his is in this class." Annabelle smiled.

They all then watched the video. Patch was a little scared, but not too badly, it was cool to see a video of this after hearing the story last night. And where he could see someone running away from a Headless Horseman.

"That's Ichabod." Forte whispered.

"Thank you, Maestro." Cherry deadpanned.

Once he got across the bridge, Ichabod thought he would be safe. He thought the coast was clear. The Headless Horseman then took out his pumpkin with an evil laugh and threw it. Patch looked unimpressed with that move.

 ** _"The church, we'll be safe there, I hope!"_** Ichabod pointed as he was on his horse's back.

The Headless Horseman charged through the cemetery to catch up with the cowardly schoolteacher of Sleepy Hollow. The pumpkin met Ichabod's face as they were across the bridge to the holy sanctuary of the church.

 ** _'And the terrified schoolteacher Ichabod Crane was never seen again.'_ ** the video narrated and then ended the story.

"But how does that even make sense?" Darla asked.

"It's just a story, Dimples." Cherry said to her.

"And so ends Washington Irving's classic tale: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," Ms. Wentworth smiled to her class. "A perfect tale for the day before Halloween, wouldn't you say, class? And aren't we lucky our new Sleepy Hollow Museum even has Irving's original manuscript from 1819, perfectly preserved."

"Pretty cool." Nick smiled at the exhibit.

"It sure is." Atticus smiled.

"How much do you think it's worth?" Amber asked.

"Irving really dug himself deep into the spooky regions for his story." a girl agreed.

"I meant the case, Kate," Nick replied. "It's totally air tight and kept at a constant temperature. Pretty cool."

The others rolled their eyes slightly at his excitement.

"Seriously, that's what excites you?" Darla asked.

"What excites me is the story," Kate said to her classmates. "Parts of it are said to be true and based on real people at the time."

"That's an interesting theory, Kate," Ms. Wentworth commented.

"Thanks, Ms. Wentworth, I've done a lot of reading." Kate smiled.

"You must really love the story." Amber said.

"I really do." Kate smiled, proud of herself. "So for all we know, our very own Nick Crane could be a distant relative of Ichabod Crane."

"That's just another one of Kate's theories," Nick chuckled sheepishly. "It's totally bogus. I mean, I'm no scaredy cat like old Ichabod was."

"You're kidding, right?" Cherry asked.

Tucker then popped bubblegum behind Nick which startled him instantly and he ended up in Kate's arms.

"I'd say I just proved Kate's theory conclusively, 'Nickabod' Crane." Tucker smirked while folding his arms.

"Is he always this mean?" Urchin asked Darla.

"He's worse than Alvin." Darla nodded.

"You should save the scares for tomorrow." Amber glared to Tucker.

"What's tomorrow?" Urchin asked.

"Pumpkin Contest." Darla told him.

"Oh." Urchin then nodded in understanding.

"Yeah and tomorrow is also Halloween." Darla said.

"There'll be a haunted house." Amber told Cherry.

Cherry grinned. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Forte added.

Cherry glanced at him strangely for his excitement.

* * *

It was then time to leave the museum and the guard smiled as they went off.

"Why do I feel like that book is going to get stolen?" Urchin asked as they were getting on the bus.

"You playin' detective, Merboy?" Darla asked the merboy she had a not-so secret crush on.

"I just have this feeling it's going to get stolen." Urchin said.

"Atticus, Urchin thinks that the manuscript is going to be stolen." Darla told her big brother.

"Hmm..." Atticus hummed in thought, then looked to Cherry. "We better stick around while the kids go back to school."

"All right, but nothing embarrassing." Cherry said while fiddling with her glasses.

"Alright, but first, I better get them back to school since it seems they don't have any more spare tires." Atticus said.

Cherry nodded about that.


	3. Chapter 3

When the kids were brought back to school, Urchin decided to stick around since he still had time to be human for the day. Atticus soon ran like the wind back to the museum. Cherry and Patch went with him of course while the kids were getting their haunted house for school set up for tomorrow. Darla and Urchin seemed to sneak with the older kids and puppy.

"Go back to the other students, you two." Patch said as he could hear them.

"Aww..." Darla and Urchin frowned.

"Education is important." Atticus said.

"Hey, I'm not even in school." Urchin smirked innocently.

"You wanted to be like a normal human boy." Darla reminded with a smirk back.

"Dang it." Urchin groaned.

"Now go to school." Cherry firmly told Darla and Urchin.

"How come you guys don't have to go to school?" Darla folded her arms.

"Yeah." Urchin said.

"Just go." Atticus said.

Darla and Urchin mumbled before they then went off to meet the others back at school.

* * *

Atticus continued to run to the museum. Cherry and Patch followed him.

Urchin looked bored as he sat in a desk as Darla, Amber, and Annabelle were with Nick and Kate. "School is so boring." he then groaned.

"Welcome to the real world." Darla giggled.

"Now this is pretty cool, Nick!" Kate beamed as she had a remote control for a spider on a web.

"Yeah, I had to disassemble my miniature remote control space station to make it, but no problem," Nick smiled as he used a screwdriver on a skeleton. "You think that spider was cool, wait 'til I get this zombie put together."

"I wonder how it will look." Amber said.

"Too bad we don't have any music to make monsters by." Amber sighed.

Nick then turned on a boombox which played eerie music.

"You've thought of everything!" Kate smiled to her best friend.

"The music is very eerie." Urchin smiled.

"That's the Halloween spirit!" Amber smiled back to the blonde boy.

Darla did her part by making up clothes for the zombie, showing she had a great taste and talent in fashion like Rarity.

"Wow, Rarity's fashion lessons sure are helpful." Amber said.

"I think I'll work for the fashion industry when I grow up." Darla suggested for her future.

The others smiled to that. Darla then took out the blue jacket and allowed the others to cut it up a little to make it look old and tattered for the zombie.

"Looks just like how a zombie would wear it." Darla smiled.

Amber and Annabelle smiled back to her. Nick then fit the jacket on and it was a perfect fit.

"Perfect." Nick smiled.

"You think maybe he needs gloves?" Urchin wondered.

"Maybe." Darla said.

Darla then decided to make gloves with claws for the zombie. Nick continued to screw the bones and he then smirked once he saw Kate grabbed his shoulder with one of the arms as a joke. Nick seemed to smile dreamily to her.

"Uh-oh, someone is in love." Darla smirked quietly.

Urchin then put a messy purple wig on the zombie's head. Annabelle was making slime to put in for affect.

"What is that stuff?" Amber asked.

"Mushy old jelly." Annabelle smirked.

"Ew." Amber cringed.

Annabelle giggled as they then added in the slime. Urchin took out a rubber eyeball and put it in one eye socket.

"Cool." Annabelle smiled.

Kate looked disgusted from the eye and Nick took a picture of that with their camera.

"Too bad we can't make him move, that'd be really cool." Amber said.

"Who says we can't?" Nick smiled.

"Wait, we can?" Annabelle smiled.

Nick put a metal piece onto the skeleton and took out a remote control which made the skeleton walk around.

"That is so cool." Urchin smiled.

Nick smiled as he seemed to enjoy this himself.

"Nice, looks like it just crawled out of the graveyard!" Kate approved.

"Yeah, that green jelly from the cafeteria really is unearthly especially when smeared all over the skeleton from the biology lab." Nick smiled to Annabelle since the slime was her idea.

"Awesome." Annabelle smiled.

"It oughta make the haunted house a howling success." Kate said as they kept the zombie in a locker until tomorrow.

"Yeah, we just forgot one thing," Nick said. "We still need to carve a scary pumpkin for the Pumpkin Contest."

"Oh, right..." Darla said.

"There's still plenty of time to find a nice big one," Kate smiled. "After we wash up this slime."

They then went to the bathrooms to wash themselves up after getting slime on them.

"I don't think I've seen you in school before, kid." Nick said to Urchin.

"I'm new." Urchin said.

"Hmm..." Nick hummed to him before then using the hand dryer.

The lights then appeared to be flickering on and off.

"Does that happen a lot?" Urchin asked.

"It's probably nothing." Nick shrugged as they then left the room.

"I hope so." Urchin said.

They then walked out of the bathroom. There was a galloping sound heard which made Nick freeze in his spot.

"Crane... I've come for you...!" a ghostly voice called from up the hallway.

"That's not funny, Tucker!" Darla glared.

Nick had already began to run for his life and had accidentally ran into Kate, knocking her down on the floor.

"Are you serious?" Urchin asked.

"Nick, what's going on?" Kate asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"W-Worse, look!" Nick pointed in fear.

"It's the ghost of the Headless Horseman and it's real!" Kate said.

"No, it's not..." Darla deadpanned before letting her leg out to trip Tucker. And where it caused him to yelp as he tripped over her leg.

* * *

Darla smirked as Tucker then tripped and exposed himself, she then walked over with an innocent whistle.

"Real disappointing." Kate frowned as Tucker's pumpkin fell in the water fountain.

"Yep." Amber smiled.

"Nick, you can come out now, it's just Tucker trying to be funny." Annabelle called.

Nick came out of a locker and chuckled sheepishly. "Knew it all along... Nice touch with the goggles though, Tuck."

"Knew it all along?!" Tucker laughed. "Yeah, right! I've never seen anybody so scared."

"Would you just leave us alone?" Darla asked.

Urchin smirked as he then brought the zombie out from the hallway corner to scare Tucker. Tucker yelled out in fear.

"Who's tough now?" Urchin smirked.

"Why, you!" Tucker glared.

Urchin only laughed at Tucker.

"Nice one, Urchin." Darla smiled.

"Sure thing... Darla." Urchin smiled back.

"You okay, Nick?" Amber asked.

"I... I think so..." Nick smiled nervously.

"Nick, you have got to grow a back bone." Annabelle said.

"I know..." Nick sighed.

Urchin decided he should maybe help Nick out with his cowardice.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Back at the museum...**_

"Mind if we take a look around, sir?" Cherry asked the guard as she came to the front door with Atticus.

"Not at all, just make sure you don't try to steal anything." The Guard said.

"We would never." Atticus promised.

The two best friends then stumbled into the museum and the guard shut the door behind them as it was quite windy outside.

"It sure is windy outside." Mo said as she rushed inside.

"Oh, Mo, there you are." Atticus said.

Mo shivered as she then warmed up instantly once inside the building. "Ah, much better."

"We better go check on the manuscript." Atticus said.

"Manuscript...?" Mo asked.

"It's a fancy term for a book, it's right here." Cherry said as she walked in that direction.

And where they saw someone coming.

Mo smiled at the case. "Man, this thing's awesome."

"We better make sure that no one steals it." Atticus said.

"I think we might be too late." Mo said.

"Too late?" Atticus and Cherry asked.

"Aren't these cases supposed to have something in them?" Mo then asked to show that the case was empty.

"Someone already stole it?" Cherry asked.

"Wow, whoever did that works fast." Atticus said.

Mo found a path of sudsy water and followed it as it went out the window.

"Well, that explains how they got inside." Mo said.

"Who could've done this?" Cherry frowned.

The guard panicked once he saw the manuscript had been stolen.

"I suggest we get out of here quickly." Atticus said.

"Come on!" Cherry said and ran to the window until she stopped. "Uh, guys...?" she then looked over as she had trouble with climbing.

"We'll help." Mo said.

Atticus and Mo helped Cherry out before they got themselves out.

* * *

With that, they then rushed as the janitors were leaving in their van.

"I had a feeling about those two." Cherry glared.

"Then we better stop them from getting away." Mo said.

"Come on, girls, let's go!" Atticus said before starting to run.

Mo and Cherry weren't as fast compared to Atticus. The thieves laughed as they drove away until they ran out of gas before driving into the forest. And where they felt they had crashed into something or in this case, someone. The thieves came out and saw Atticus with his friends.

"Duh, go play somewhere else, you brats!" the dumb thief glared.

" **BRATS?!** " Atticus glared before striking the van with his fist, leaving a dent in it.

"I think we should start running." The second thief said.

The thieves then left the van and started to run.'

"Why do they always wanna do it the hard way?" Mo sighed.

"I'll be right back." Atticus said as he went after the thieves.

Cherry and Mo let him go after the bandits.

"Oh, you are both so grilled!" Atticus sneered as he chased the thieves.

* * *

 ** _Back with the others..._**

Nick, Kate, Darla, Urchin, Annabelle, and Amber were walking down the street to find a pumpkin for tomorrow.

"Now which one would be perfect?" Urchin asked.

"These all look too small." Amber commented at the pumpkins on sale at a stand down the block.

"Let's look down the line." Darla said.

"Hey, guys, back at school, you didn't think I was really scared, did ya?" Nick asked.

"Oh, Nick, it was just Tucker being a goofball." Kate replied as they took a look at the pumpkins.

* * *

Back in the forest, Atticus continued to chase the thieves.

"Come back with that manuscript!" Atticus demanded as he never got tired of chasing the two.

And where he was now using his super-speed to catch them. The thieves almost tripped from a tree root, but they kept running to avoid Atticus as he was much faster than they thought he was. The two then found a shortcut and hid the book in a pumpkin and they covered it up with leaves so only they would know where it was.

Atticus paused for a quick water break and once he was hydrated, he continued to run. And where he soon grabbed them both by their shirt collars. "Hey, guys..." he smirked darkly to them. "Where's the book?"

"Uh, what book?" The idiot thief lied.

Atticus narrowed his eyes. "Don't play dumb."

"Oh, he ain't playin'." the smarter thief replied.

"Tell me where the manuscript is or else." Atticus glared.

"I don't see why we should tell a kid." the smart thief scoffed.

"How'd you like to be a pretzel for the rest of your life?" Atticus challenged.

"With how strong you are able to leave a dent in our vehicle, I believe you could do that." The smart thief said.

"Okay, we'll tell you." The dumb thief said.

"Good..." Atticus smirked.

"Put us down first..." the smart thief said.

Atticus didn't trust it, but he then let them down.

"It's in the pumpkin patch." The dumb thief said.

Atticus nodded and the thieves then ran away. "Hey, I'm not finished with you bozos!"

"I should have known it wouldn't be that easy." The smart thief groaned.

"What do we do?" the dumb thief asked.

"Just keep runnin'!" the smart thief replied.

"Oh, you guys are really testing my patience!" Atticus glared.

The two of them then felt like they weren't going anywhere and were being lifted up.

"I knew I couldn't trust you..." Atticus then walked off. "I'm taking you guys to the guards. I'll come back for the book later or get the girls for it."

This caused for the thieves to gulp as they tried to search for a weapon. Atticus smirked as he had them right where he wanted them.


	5. Chapter 5

The kids gave up with the pumpkins at the stand as they were too small.

"All of them were too small." Darla pouted.

"Ugh, guys, this is the third stand we've been to!" Nick told them.

"I know, I know, but we really need a humongous pumpkin." Kate replied.

"How about the pumpkin patch in the forest?" Amber suggested. "My dad says the biggest pumpkins are the ones that grow in the forests."

"Why didn't we try there?" Annabelle asked.

"The woods?" Nick asked nervously and looked up to see dark clouds in the sky. "Uh, looks like it could rain!"

"You're not scared, are you?" Darla asked.

"S-Scared? Me? No way." Nick said out of fear.

Darla and Urchin looked doubtful, but they then walked for the woods to find the perfect pumpkin.

"So many pumpkins to choose from." Amber said.

"Wow, you were right, Amber," Nick smiled. "This is Pumpkin Central!"

"Let's find us a nice big one." Darla agreed.

"Yeah." Urchin smiled.

Kate examined each pumpkin as the others showed her possible ones, but they weren't big enough.

"Why don't you look for a pumpkin yourself if you're so picky?" Darla crossed her arms at Kate as she then sat down, unknowingly on the thieves' covered pumpkin.

"Darla, I think you are sitting on the perfect pumpkin." Kate smiled.

"Huh?" Darla asked before she then stood up and removed the leaves to find a huge pumpkin. "Whoa!"

Urchin was about to reach for the pumpkin since he was the strongest of them, but then flinched as he heard thunder and saw lightning flashing. "What was that?!"

"Hmm,... Maybe it is gonna rain." Kate said to Nick.

"Let's get the pumpkin and get inside." Darla said.

"I got it," Urchin reached out and carried the pumpkin easily due to his strength training under the sea. "Now let's get back to the school."

"You sure you got this?" Nick asked Urchin.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look." Urchin smiled as he carried the pumpkin.

"You sure are." Darla smiled.

Urchin smiled bashfully to her.

* * *

They soon got back to the school.

"You wanna carve this guy or should I?" Nick asked Kate on the way into the school.

"I think you should do it, Nick." Kate said.

They came into the classroom as Ms. Wentworth was examining the room, loving the spooky details.

"So what will you be carving into it?" Urchin asked Nick.

"Probably a spooky face." Nick shrugged.

"Yeah." Urchin nodded in agreement.

"I'm so glad I caught you all before I left." Ms. Wentworth smiled as she took a look at the haunted house.

"Oh, hello, ma'am, do you like it?" Amber smiled back.

"Yes I really do and I can't wait until the class sees it." Ms. Wentworth agreed.

"Same here." Annabelle said.

"You ain't seen nuthin' yet." Nick smirked as he took out the controls.

The zombie then came out from the locker which scared Ms. Wentworth and the books out of her hands and the zombie had carried them for her.

"Ta-da." Urchin smiled.

Ms. Wentworth chuckled to that and even shook hands with the zombie as Nick controlled it.

"That is so cool." Urchin smiled.

Nick smiled while laughing with Kate and the others. Ms. Wentworth had an amused smile to their zombie effort.

"Alright, let's get started with the pumpkin." Urchin said.

"Bring it over here, Urchin." Nick pointed to an empty table.

Urchin nodded and went to put it right there. "There you go." he then said.

Nick then put the pumpkin in place.

"I'll leave you to it." Ms. Wentworth smiled to her students as she decided to get home.

"Wouldn't it be great if this pumpkin got to carve itself?" Urchin asked.

"Heh... Yeah..." Darla said as she got the tools. "Now guys, Atticus warned me about this, be super careful."

"We will." Amber said.

Annabelle soon got a chill down her spine as she looked at the pumpkin. Darla took out newspapers so they could get the pumpkin ready.

 _'Why did I suddenly get a chill down my spine when I looked at that pumpkin?'_ Annabelle thought to herself.

They were then about to tend to the pumpkin to make it into a perfectly scary Jack-O-Lantern. However, before they did, there was a creepy face on it and it appeared to be glowing after a flash of lightning.

"What the heck?!" Urchin gasped.

"Did you do that?" Kate asked Nick.

"Me? No way!" Nick replied. "Maybe it was Tucker trying to scare me again. Not that I'm scared."

"Well, I think it's creepy!" Annabelle shuddered.

"Maybe one of us should use magic to see of how it got that way." Amber said.

"Please, allow us." Annabelle volunteered herself and Darla.

"Please, there's no such thing as magic." Nick spoke up, thinking logically.

"Why do smart people always gotta say that?" Darla sounded offended.

"Because they don't believe in magic." Amber said.

"Let's just put it in the window." Kate said.

* * *

Urchin moved the pumpkin, but he allowed Annabelle and Darla to take a look at it. Darla took out her Moon Staff while Annabelle took out her late mother's magic wand and they both summoned their magic, proving Nick wrong. And where their magic told them that this Jack-O-Lantern was the Headless Horseman's head. Darla and Annabelle looked frightened and nervous. There was then a misty blue aura coming from the pumpkin.

"Someone's coming." Annabelle said.

"It's a g-g-g-ghost..." Darla shuddered.

There then came a ghost dressed in military clothing and looked quite elderly. Nick and the ghost both screamed after seeing each other. The ghost then screamed and hid in the lockers.

"Did you see that?!" Nick flipped out.

"It was hard to miss," Kate took out her camera. "I'm gonna take a picture of it!"

"It's a ghost, its picture won't come through." Darla said.

The ghost then rushed out of the locker after getting scared again and Kate snapped the picture.

"Everybody knows ghosts and vampires don't take pictures." Darla said to Kate.

"Yeah." Amber said.

"Please don't harm me!" the ghost begged.

"Wait, if his picture didn't show up, that means he's a real g-g-ghost!" Nick shivered fearfully.

"Of course I'm a ghost, I mean, it's Halloween Eve, is it not?" the ghost replied. "I've seen other ghosts roam, but I've never seen one like that creature in there... Scary... Anyway, I cannot terry, I must wander before the Headless Horseman comes back for his head. Things shall get very ugly for you live ones."

"Wait, you mean this is really the Headless Horseman's head?" Amber asked.

"Yes, it's a haunted pumpkin," the ghost replied. "And as sure as my name is Nathaniel Wiley, who lived and died at the Battle of White Plains."

"Wow!" Kate beamed. "Washington Irving mentioned that battle in his tale of the Headless Horseman!"

"Hmph!" Nathaniel folded his arms. "What does a writer know? I'll tell you the true story of that horseman, he was a hearshman, a merciless, menacing solider who made a deal with Dark Forces so he would be unbeatable. Luckily, some of the Revolutionary Elders had some magic of their own, the hearshman was defeated and beheaded!"

"Well, at least he's dead and won't be coming back from the dead to get his head back, right?" Annabelle smiled nervously.

"Wrong," Nathaniel replied. "Today is the anniversary of his death. If the pumpkin is placed on the Headless Horseman's shoulders, at the stroke of midnight on Halloween Eve, the evil hearshman will live again, holy unstoppable."

"What?!" Darla asked out of shock.

"I knew that story was based on facts!" Kate exclaimed.

"Glad you're happy, but this sounds pretty bad!" Nick deadpanned.

"Aye, that it is, lad," Nathaniel replied. "But the hearshman only has one chance. If he puts that pumpkin on his head at exactly the stroke of midnight and not one second after, it will be transformed into his real head and the evil creature will stalk the Earth once more."

"Then all we have to do is keep it away from him." Amber said.

"We?" Nick flinched. "Gee, I dunno."

"Grow a spine, will ya?!" Urchin complained.

"You look so familiar, lad," Nathaniel said to Nick. "You remind me of a schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane. A nervous, timid, fidgety sort, you're not related to him by any-"

"NO!" Nick denied.

"Yes, he is!" Darla told him. "I'm sorry, Nick, but you are related to him."

"We should be fine as long as we keep the pumpkin here," Annabelle said. "The doors will be locked after hours."

"We should have some muscle in case this gets serious." Nick said.

Urchin cracked his knuckles. "I'll help for now until Atticus gets here."

The thieves were then coming for the pumpkin as they posed as Headless Horsemen, but the kids shut the windows and ran with the pumpkin. Atticus came from behind the thieves and grabbed them before tying them up in a metal support beam.

"Atticus." Darla smiled to her big brother.

Atticus smiled back as he handled the two bad guys. He then soon teleported the thieves to the police. "That should be that," he said, then noticed the kids had gotten away. "Hey, where'd they go?"


	6. Chapter 6

It was dark as night outside as the others ran with Nathaniel with the pumpkin at hand.

"Atticus!" Darla called out.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile in the forest..._**

Cherry and Mo shivered as they waited for Atticus.

"He's been gone for a long time..." Mo said. "Should we look for him?"

"I'm sure he's fine..." Cherry said as she held herself while freezing. "We might as well go home."

There was then a ghostly moan heard.

"Very funny, Cherry, you better not be trying to scare me like when we visited that haunted mansion with your aunt, uncle, and cousins." Mo glared.

"I didn't do anything." Cherry replied.

"If you didn't make that sound then who did?" Mo asked.

Cherry shrugged. The two then looked in the distance and saw the ghost of the Headless Horseman.

"That's quite a costume..." Cherry's eyes widened. "You go to Party City, buddy?"

"Uh, Cherry, this guy doesn't have a head." Mo said.

"That's a pretty good costume..." Cherry said.

"I don't think it's a costume." Mo replied. "Shall we run for our lives?"

"Oh, yes, let's." Cherry replied.

* * *

The two then screamed and ran out the forest. The Headless Horseman didn't seem to go after them he was after his head. Cherry and Mo made it out of the forest and panted heavily as Atticus was coming to find the kids, but then found them.

"Girls, what's wrong?" Atticus asked.

"Headless Horseman!" Cherry and Mo cried out.

"Headless Horseman?" Atticus asked. "Are you sure? Cherry, who did you put up to this?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Cherry begged.

"She's telling the truth!" Mo cried.

Atticus believed Cherry when Mo said it. "Then who could it be?"

"Forte told me that the Legend of Sleepy Hollow really happened..." Cherry panted. "It could be the real Headless Horseman!"

"Then we better get to the kids; I have a feeling they might be involved." Atticus said.

"We?" Cherry asked.

"Don't make him drag you." Mo warned.

Cherry's eyes widened and she then went with Atticus and Mo out of the woods to find the kids.

"Wait, why don't we just teleport to where they are?" Mo asked.

Atticus face-palmed himself. "Why is it whenever I'm around Mo, I forget about my magic?'

"Because your mind and eyes are clouded by love." Cherry smirked.

"Oh, right." Atticus said. He soon used his magic and teleported all three of them to Darla and the others.

* * *

They were near a haunted looking house.

"Guys, there you are," Cherry said to the kids. "Listen, you need to-" she then looked to Nathaniel. "Hey, great costume."

"Uh, this isn't a costume." Nathaniel told her, saying he was a real ghost.

Cherry scoffed. "Prove it."

Atticus wore deadpan look on his face as he took a picture of Nathaniel to prove if he really was a ghost. He then smirked as he then looked to his phone and his eyes widened as nothing came up on the film. Nathaniel then walked through Cherry.

"BRR!" Cherry held herself and shivered from that. "Jeez, man!"

"He's a real ghost." Mo said.

"Thank you for that..." Cherry shuddered.

Kate tried to open the mansion doors, but they were locked.

Urchin gently put her aside, then cracked his knuckles as he then tried to open the doors, using all of his strength from training. And where it was working a bit. "Come on... Open..." he grunted and groaned, he might not have been strong as Atticus, but he was strong for his age and self.

Nick was actually hoping that Urchin wouldn't be able to open the door. Soon enough, the doors opened right away which made Urchin fall forward into the house.

"Well, I got the door open." Urchin said.

Kate swatted at the cobweb and they all came inside so they could hide the pumpkin in here. As they all came in, the doors blew shut which actually startled Nathaniel.

"Seriously?" Mo asked.

"Nick, you don't have to shake, it was just the wind." Annabelle said.

"I'm not shaking, it's just that Nathaniel's really heavy!" Nick replied as the ghost was shivering in fear while clinging onto the cowardly boy.

"For once, he's telling the truth." Darla said.

"Hey, I'm immaterial, kid, I'm a ghost, see?" Nathaniel floated upward and then walked through the wall.

Cherry's ear twitched and she looked up to see a bat coming. "Look out, it's a vampire bat!"

"I'm sure it's a normal bat." Mo said.

"No, it's a vampire bat, I would know." Cherry glared.

"Alright then, let's duck." Mo said.

Nathaniel drew out a sword and glared to the bat.

"Nathaniel, you do realize that your sword will just go right through the bat, right?" Atticus asked.

"So much for my brave sacrifice..." Nathaniel muttered.

"Ugh..." Darla groaned and rolled her eyes.

"One of us should blow that bat out of here." Urchin said.

Atticus cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Watch your aim this time!" Cherry reminded him of the last time.

"I will, besides, it's not that hard to miss a bat." Atticus said.

Somehow, Nathaniel's sword was able to stab at the bat.

"That's new." Mo said.

"Maybe the bat is dead too." Cherry's eyes widened.

"Maybe." Atticus said.

Eventually, the bat flew off away from the others.

"Victory is ours!" Nathaniel cheered. "I have battled the bat like the Battle of White Plains!" he then slid down the banister before joining the kids again downstairs and put his sword back. "The enemy is vanquished. Let's go!"

"Good thing Scooby or Shaggy aren't here," Cherry commented. "This place might scare them to death."

"Yeah." Atticus agreed.

"Looks rather deserted," Nathaniel examined until he came to a couple of framed portraits. "Ah, but when the Van Tassels were alive, the castle was filled with party-goers!"

"Sounds like fun." Urchin smiled.

One portrait came to life and then grabbed Cherry from behind.

"Okay, guys, I get it, I tried to scare you guys last time and now you're trying to get me back." Cherry glared to her friends.

"What are you talking about?" Mo asked.

"Now you're grabbing me?" Cherry replied.

The others shook their heads at her.

"Oh, it's been so long since we've had guests." the man in the portrait came out next to her, revealing to be a ghost.

"Oh, we never get visitors." the woman added in, coming out as well.

Cherry's eyes widened as she turned white as a sheet, then rushed over, shaking behind Atticus.

"That wasn't very nice." Mo glared at the two ghosts.

"I wasn't scared..." Cherry said. "I just thought there was a spider in my shirt."

"Sure." The ghosts smirked.

Cherry growled at the ghosts who had scared her.

"Anyway, who are you two?" Mo asked.

"Any relation to Katrina Van Tassel?" Amber assumed, knowing that tonight was Sleepy Hollow based.

"Indeed." The first ghost nodded.

"Oh, great, then you're nice... Right?" Cherry said.

"Who said that?" the second ghost laughed.

Cherry then glared to the ghosts. "Now your names?"

"Please." Mo added.

"I'm Baron Van Tassel and this is my wife, Baroness Van Tassel." the male ghost said.

"It's nice to meet you both." Atticus said.

"Wish we could say the same thing." Baroness whispered to her husband.

"What was that?" Urchin glared slightly.

"Oh, nothing." Baroness said.

The couple then brought the others into a spooky dance as they seemed dark and evil.

"Seem kinda wicked to be related to the Van Tassels." Darla commented as she held the pumpkin with Urchin.

"Wait, if you two are Van Tassels, then shouldn't you two be nice and not dark and evil?" Amber asked after picking up on the two ghosts' behavior.

"Who said we had to be nice?" Baron Van Tassel smirked.

"Well, your daughter reminds us of our old friend Cinderella based on what we know about her." Cherry replied, referring to herself and Atticus.

"Yeah, I mean seriously; if your daughter was nice, shouldn't you two be nice as well?" Atticus asked.

"Hmm... NO!" the couple laughed and made them move into another room.

"Singing ghosts?" Kate groaned. "What's next?!"

* * *

"Where's the lights in this place?" Cherry reached for a light switch and clicked it on to show two live skeletons playing a card game.

"You just had to ask." Darla sighed.

"Uh, well, we'll leave you to your game." Amber smiled nervously to the skeletons.

"Yeah." Annabelle also smiled nervously.

"There you guys are!" Nathaniel popped into the room. "I thought I'd never get away from that spider!"

" **SPIDER?!** " Cherry squeaked in a high pitch.

A ghost spider then came in which made Nathaniel run out of fear.

"Oh, come on! A ghost spider?" Darla complained.

"No harm done..." Cherry collected the scattered playing cards. "You guys could always start over."

"Not after 300 years!" one skeleton glared. "What're you doing with those cards?"

"Are you cheating too?!" the other skeleton also glared.

"Cheating? I'm not even playing!" Cherry replied.

"Let's just leave them be." Atticus said.

"Scoundrels!" one skeleton yelled.

"Get them!" the other skeleton said.

The others then rushed away to avoid the skeletons.

"What is with them?!" Atticus asked while running.

"I guess a couple of sore losers!" Darla replied.

"Just keep quiet and run!" Cherry told them.

They then ran as fast as they could to avoid the skeletons.


	7. Chapter 7

"This is not good, guys," Nick said. "We not only have the Headless Horseman to keep the pumpkin away from."

"I know!" Kate agreed. "We have to play keep away from a bunch of ghosts!"

"Wait! If we mention the Headless Horseman, then maybe the ghosts will be so scared that they'll leave us alone." Darla smiled.

"You think so, Dimples?" Cherry asked.

"Worth a shot." Darla smirked.

"Might as well try it." Atticus said.

"Listen up," Urchin spoke up and set the pumpkin down while leaning against the wall. "You shouldn't hurt us."

"And why not?" one skeleton asked.

"Because the Headless Horseman is coming right here as we speak." Darla smiled darkly.

"Yep, we have his head." Amber also smiled darkly.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if he were to show up here and saw you against the ones who had his head?" Cherry taunted.

This scared the ghosts instantly. The others smiled to that as the ghosts then went away like the cowards they were.

"How'd you know that'd work?" Annabelle asked Darla.

"With how scary he sounded, I just wanted to see if it would work for those ghosts." Darla said.

"Nice work, Sis." Atticus ruffled up her hair.

"Uh, what time is it?" Darla asked.

Cherry took out her phone. "Whoa, it's 11:45!"

"Only fifteen minutes to go until midnight and as long as we stay in here and away from you-know-who, everything should be just fine." Urchin said.

"You can't tell us that that's really from that beast that scared off Ichabod Crane." Baroness Van Tassel said.

"Who then made our daughter marry that brute Brom Bones!" Baron Van Tassel then added in.

" **I WANT THAT THING OUT OF HERE AT ONCE!** " Baroness Van Tassel then shrieked like a banshee.

"And we just lost the only chance of keeping away from him." Urchin sighed.

Baroness Van Tassel took the pumpkin and threw it at the door.

"WHOA!" Cherry ran over before tripping and slipping against the floor, but then caught the pumpkin in her hands. "Phew..."

"Whew." Atticus sighed.

"Wow, Cherry, your clumsiness saved the day." Darla laughed with Urchin.

Cherry glared with a low growl to them.

"Well, at least the Headless Horseman isn't close by." Annabelle said.

"Come on, guys, we better hurry..." Cherry said as she then stood up while stumbling with the pumpkin. "Wow, this thing's really heavy."

"Let me carry it." Atticus said.

Cherry shook nervously and struggledily as she then handed the pumpkin to Atticus and then panted heavily after he took it. "Of course to you, that thing is as light as a feather." she then panted.

"And you are right," Atticus said. "Wait, why don't we just crush this thing and destroy it?"

"Can we do that?" Urchin winced.

"Well, yes, but the only way that someone could do that is if they had the strength of a god." Nathaniel told them.

Atticus smiled. "Please, allow me."

"Go ahead and try." Nathaniel said, not knowing about Atticus's true strength.

"And while you do that, we'll distract him." Darla said as she pointed to where she saw the Headless Horseman that was on his way to them.

"When you say we...?" Cherry spoke up nervously.

"She means all of us while Atticus destroys that evil Jack-O-Lantern." Urchin said.

"Uhh..." Cherry looked nervous.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Cherry, _you_ use your strength to destroy the pumpkin," Darla said. "Oh, wait, that's right, you aren't strong enough."

Cherry sighed as she was given the short end of the stick. "Whatever."

"We just have to distract him." Kate said.

* * *

The Headless Horseman came with the flowing wind of Autumn as he came for his head. Unfortunately for him, Darla and the others were keeping him from getting any closer.

"Hey, don't lose your head." Cherry said before laughing out loud at her lame pun.

"Lame!" Everyone told her.

Cherry winced and groaned at the backlash given to her. Atticus started to use his god strength and started to crush the evil Jack-O-Lantern. The Headless Horseman then gripped Cherry upward by her throat.

"Nice horseman..." Cherry gagged nervously as her feet no longer touched the ground.

The Headless Horseman soon tried to get closer to Atticus to get his attention.

Atticus looked up. "Hold on, Cherry."

"Sure!" Cherry choked. "I'm not going anywhere!"

The Headless Horseman was starting to reach down to his head until Atticus completely crushed it and destroyed it.

"Head's up, Horseman," Atticus smirked before then looking in the mushy and seedy mess to find the manuscript. "So that's where you were all this time." he then cleaned it up with his magic to make it look good as new as it was over 200 years ago.

The Headless Horseman soon yelled out of pain and was then destroyed. Cherry grabbed her throat while gasping for air once she was then let go of.

"Let's get that back to the museum." Darla said.

"Yeah, it belongs there, plus it's waaay past your bedtimes." Atticus smiled.

"But what about our Jack-O-Lantern?" Nick pouted.

"I'll make you a new one, I promise, I'm sorry." Atticus said about smushing the old pumpkin.

"I really want pie now..." Cherry pouted.

Atticus soon used his magic and pumpkin pie appeared in Cherry's hands.

Cherry glared. "Ahem!"

"Picky, picky..." Atticus said before then adding whipped cream to the pie.

Cherry then ate the pie with pleasure once she could do that now.

"Well, that just happened." Nick said.

"Come on, you guys, it's time to go to the museum and to bed." Atticus said.

"Alright." The kids pouted.

* * *

They were all then taken home and tomorrow would be the big day.

Darla was in her pajamas and on her way to bed until she saw a note from Drell. " _'Get ready for a family vacation in Retroville soon'_... Cool." she then yawned. She put the note on her nightstand and turned over to get some sleep after a long and scary adventure tonight.

* * *

Urchin was going back into the water and swam back to Atlantica with a yawn.

"Did you enjoy your time on the surface?" Triton smiled.

"Very much, nearly cost me my life, no joke," Urchin chuckled. "Can I go again tomorrow?"

"Of course." Triton smiled.

"Thanks, Dad." Urchin smiled back.

"Don't mention it." Triton smiled back as well.

Urchin smiled before then yawning, he then swam along to his room, passing his six older sisters, except Ariel of course as she lived on land now with Eric. And where he was now ready to hit the hay. "Night Attina, Arista, Alana, Adella, Aquata, Adriana..." he muttered on the way to bed.

"Good night, Urchin." the older daughters of King Triton told their new brother.

He soon got into his bed and fell asleep. The girls then went to their own beds.

Urchin turned to his window as he looked up to the current to the surface. "Oh, Ariel, I wish you could've seen it... I miss ya a lot, out of all the sisters we shared together, you were my favorite."

The next day came sooner than anyone knew.


	8. Chapter 8

Urchin slept a little later than he anticipated to, so Triton sent Sebastian to wake the boy up. And where he did just that. "Urchin, wake up..."

"Five more minutes, Dad..." Urchin muttered.

Sebastian put his claws on the boy.

" **YOW!** " Urchin sat up sharply then.

"About time." Sebastian said.

Urchin rubbed his eyes, then realized what today was. "Whoa, I gotta go!" he then swam right out of his bed and combed his hair.

"Since when do you care about your hair, boy?" Sebastian asked.

"Uh, I wanna look good for the land people today." Urchin replied.

"Dis wouldn't also happen to also be for looking your best for Darla, would it?" Sebastian smirked.

"What about that Golidilocks?" Urchin blushed. "She's just some girl."

"Sure." Sebastian smirked.

"Aw, what do ya know?" Urchin rolled his copper eyes at the crab.

"I know dat you should hurry." Sebastian said.

Urchin then had his hair all neat and swam back up to the surface. He then pulled upward with his arms and his body glowed to give him legs and his human boy outfit which was a dark green T-Shirt, white shorts, and green sandals. He then stood up with a jacket he had found as it was cold this time of year and ran off to Darla's school.

* * *

"I wonder where Urchin is?" Kate said.

"Yeah, wasn't he on the bus?" Nick asked.

"Uh, he walks to school." Darla said, that wasn't necessarily a lie.

"Oh, okay." Nick and Kate shrugged.

Darla smiled nervously to them before looking out for Urchin. Nick and Kate then went to get the haunted house set up since today was Halloween. Soon enough, Urchin came.

"There you are, we were getting so worried!" Darla replied.

"Who's we?" Urchin smirked.

Darla rolled her eyes while blushing. "Just get in here."

"Alright, alright." Urchin smirked.

* * *

Darla then walked with him into the school gym where there was a party.

"Wow." Urchin smiled.

"Isn't it fantastic?" Darla smiled with Urchin as they came into the gym.

"It sure is." Urchin smiled.

Darla then decided to show him bobbing for apples. "Okay, you dip your head in, bite an apple, and put it out."

"Then what?" Urchin asked.

"That's it." Darla replied.

"Sounds kinda boring..." Urchin shrugged about the actiivty.

"Just try it." Darla said.

Urchin shrugged, then knelt in front of the bucket and put his head into the water to grab an apple with his teeth, then put his head up as Patch was then on the other side with the apple also in his teeth as he came out of the water.

"Patch?" Darla asked, confused.

Patch then let go and looked over. "How did I get in there?"

Urchin yelped out as he had 'dog germs'.

"Really?" Darla asked, unimpressed.

Patch then climbed out of the barrel and shook himself dry.

* * *

The kids all wandered and explored, having a lot of fun with Nick and Kate's haunted house.

"Wow, their haunted house is a big success." Amber smiled.

"You should see Ms. Grimwood's Finishing School for Ghouls." Patch smiled back.

"Don't you mean 'girls'?" Amber asked.

"No, ghouls, it's a Ghoul School." Patch replied.

"Ooh." Annabelle smiled.

"Maybe you girls could come over sometime," Patch invited. "If we ask Ms. Grimwood of course."

"That sounds great." Amber smiled.

The others smiled back.

"I wonder if Tucker will get scared." Urchin smiled.

"I hope so." Darla smirked.

The others students seemed to be impressed and spooked by the haunted house while Tucker and Ms. Wentworth waited outside.

* * *

"What's the matter, Tucker?" Ms. Wentworth asked. "Don't you wanna go into the haunted house?"

"Yeah, don't you?" Darla smirked.

"I guess he's still had enough from that monster from last night." Kate smirked herself.

"Well, I think you all did a great job on it." Ms. Wentworth smiled to her students.

"Oh, yeah? Well they did a real lousy job on their pumpkin!" Tucker scoffed as he then came to the Jack-O-Lantern table. "I mean they're never gonna win the Scary Pumpkin Contest, this happy pumpkin is totally unscary!" he then laughed mockingly.

"Well, I think it's great." Annabelle said.

"You would, you fairy girl." Tucker scoffed at her.

Nathaniel then came out from behind the pumpkin and grabbed the bully boy. "Oh, I agree with the fairy girl..." he then grabbed the boy's shirt while glaring with beady red eyes.

Tucker then screamed out of pure fear and ran to hide behind Ms. Wentworth. Nathaniel winked to his friends before then chasing after Tucker to teach him a lesson.

"That should teach him a lesson." Urchin smirked.

"Mm-hmm..." the others nodded in agreement.

"How'd you do that, Nick?" Ms. Wentworth asked about the ghost.

"Sorry, trade secret, right guys?" Nick replied.

"Right." The others nodded.

Nathaniel continued to chase Tucker right out of the school which made the friends laugh as he had deserved that.

The End


End file.
